I'm just a guy that's in the streets, enjoying some birds.

(upbeat music) They are very intelligent animals, friends that they hang out with all day.

They have routines.

They let each other know when there's danger.

I just wanted to humanize them a little bit to people, and garner them some fans, and it blew up beyond my expectations.

(upbeat music) The history of the Ybor chickens dates back to the 1880s.

There was a massive fire in Key West.

Many of the factories were owned by Vicente Martinez Ybor, and instead rebuilding his factories there in Key West, he heard of this town called Tampa up north that had rail.

And so he figured he would move his operation up closer to the railway, so he can distribute his cigars across the country.

The workers brought their chickens with them.

(upbeat music) When I first moved to Ybor City, I didn't pay as much attention to the chickens.

But I started to get involved with an animal rescue in Kenya, called the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

It changed who I was, and when I came back, I looked out into the streets, and saw these small creatures running around, and they became my proxy elephants at that point.

I did start to pay more attention to the street birds, and I would notice people mistreating them, so I decided they needed some people to give them some protection.

One person doing it is just weird, so I decided to start a group.

It started with an Instagram page.

I expected maybe 2 or 300 total followers, and within six months we hit a thousand.

But once I saw that the community was as into it as I was, I decided to formalize it, and that's where the Ybor Chicken Society was born.

(upbeat music) We advocate for the chickens.

We give them a voice.

We support Ybor businesses that support the chickens.

We talk to tourists, and we try to drive people into the neighborhood to see them.

'Cause if they come to Ybor to see the chickens, then they might stop at a restaurant, and spend some money in town.

If you drive through Ybor City, and you look at the signs, and the mascots for Ybor's businesses, there's a good 30 to 40% who use the chickens in their logos and in their marketing.

So they know that that's it's a part of this neighborhood.

We get supportive calls from different business owners.

There are some businesses who sponsor chickens at different points in time.

There are businesses who try to put on events that involve the chickens, so chicken themed merchandise.

So, it's it's almost a a cottage industry here within Ybor City.

The chickens are a means of economic gain for for some of these businesses.

(lively music) - [Announcer] Right now, you're in the area where the city started, the city of Ybor, in a little town called Tampa.

We thank you for coming out, and we'll see you here every Saturday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, your Ybor Saturday Market.

[Susan] They're a part of the market, because this is their home.

The visitors, when they come here, they want something with chicken on it to remember Ybor City.

It's, it's become symbolic.

[Joe] This is actually our first year at the market.

We've had a few join us actually on our tables, which has been interesting trying to get 'em off.

People wonder about traffic and things like that, well, chances are the chicken is crossing the road, and that's why everybody has to slow down.

- [Lynn] I mix a lot of paints.

I mix my own colors.

I cannot mix anything that approximates the beauty of the chickens with the sun on them.

Chickens are the jewels of the Ybor.

- [Colleen] There is something to be said for having an Ybor City chicken cross your yoga mat.

You can keep your head lifted just a little bit, if you're looking at a chicken.

Yoga is about leaving your mind behind, and I think for a lot of people today they were able to do the yoga practice, leave their minds behind, and just focus on these little tiny animals that were just fun to be around.

I think honestly people love the chickens more than they love the yoga.

I think they were here for the chickens, the yoga's just the side effect.

It's just this, it's just a bonus for them.

- [Dylan] The Ybor Chicken Society also tries to boost civic engagement, and involvement in the neighborhood.

Part of how we do that is we conduct a weekly sweep at Centennial Park.

So we have volunteers come out, and we get the park beautiful for whatever the weekends events are.

It's a great neighborhood, it's unique, and they're a big part of that.

It's a national historic landmark district, and they are living history, here amongst the cigar factories, the brick-lined roads, and everything else that makes Ybor, Ybor.

(lively music)